Lawns

I am really not happy with my lawn I have put grass seeds down and the grass has grown. I cut it on a high setting but know it seems to have died even though I watered it when we didn't have rain and have given it lawn feed. I do not know what to do now - HELP :confused:

 

Hi, Shazzy - welcome to GC!

Depends upon a few things - is your lawn new (e.g. recently laid turf) or established? Is it infested with weeds and/or moss? What kind of soil is it laid on?

Generally, grass is pretty hardy and though it might fade back when it's dry, a good rain will soon bring it back - just think of the grassy plains in the savana.

Give us a bit more info and we might be able to give you better advice.

[ 13. September 2005, 02:30 AM: Message edited by: michaelmasdaisy ]

 

Shazzy - a couple more questions to add to michaelmas daisy's (the more information we have the better we are able to help)

1. What preperation did you do to the soil before sowing your seed

2. When was the seed sown

Sorry to ask for more info - but problems with plants is no different from problems with health - the more information the better the chance of diagnosis :D

 

I had racked all the dead moss away after putting the Spring moss and weed killer gravel down. Later on towards the summer I then put grass seeds over the lawn and laid topsoil on top.I had also left what grass was there from previously.

 

Wouldn't advise putting soil on top of the seed. It's supposed to be sown on top of the soil!!! That might explain its demise! The seed needs lots of daylight to germinate which you deprived it of. I'd try again right now or leave it till next spring.

Rake the soil in the bare patches to loosen it and make it a fine tilth, then scatter some suitable fertilizer and water in. A few days later, scatter the grass seed and leave it to germinate. If you have any probs with the birdies you might have to guard it with a criss-cross of cotton on sticks.

 

You can get away with a light scattering of soil on top of the seeds - generally it's wise to rake the seed into the soil, though only to a shallow depth. As Michaelmassdaisy says, if the seed is too deep it won't get any light.

If the seed has germinated, there are some other possibilities to look at:

[1] If you sow grass seed too thickly, it will often die off soon after germination, especially at this time of year. Having too many seedlings close together creates a micro climate which encourages diseases, grouped together under the name of Damping Off. If your seedlings appeared sort of slimy, then I'd guess that was the problem.

[2] What did you mow it with? If you take a cylinder mower to new seedlings, it will often rip them out of the ground because of its cutting action - best advice is to mow with a rotary mower until the seedlings have grown a decent root mass.

[3] It might just be that the conditions weren't right - I don't know what sort of weather you have there but we are pretty much in a drought in the South West. Remember that when seedling roots are very shallow, they'll struggle to survive even with watering - I think it was Fran who pointed out a while back that all the irrigation in the world is no substitute for natural rainfall.

Look on the bright side Shazzy, as soon as we get some consistent rainfall, September and October are the ideal months for lawn renovation - it might just pay you to go back to square one and hope for a better result this time. At least grass seed is cheap